Michael H. Morris

Biography

Michael H. Morris is a faculty member of the Keough School's McKenna Center for Human Development and Global Business at the University of Notre Dame. He has authored 18 books, 26 book chapters, and more than 140 articles in peer-reviewed journals. He co-edits the Prentice-Hall Entrepreneurship Series and is editor of the Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship. A pioneer in curricular innovation and experiential learning, he has built three university entrepreneurship programs that have been ranked in the top 10 in the United States and earned global recognition for excellence. Morris also is the founder and director of the Experiential Classroom, a clinic that shares best practices in entrepreneurship education with faculty from around the globe.

Morris has worked to bring entrepreneurship empowerment to those operating under conditions of adversity, and this commitment is reflected in his research, teaching, and community engagement efforts. At Notre Dame he has launched the Global Partnership for Poverty and Entrepreneurship, a resource-sharing consortium for scholars, educators, and community leaders, and the Urban Poverty and Business Initiative, which helps low-income members of urban communities develop their own businesses. Morris also coordinates the Entrepreneurship Empowerment in South Africa Program, which enables students to work with historically disadvantaged entrepreneurs in Cape Town, South Africa. On Martin Luther King, Jr. Day 2023, Morris was honored with a mayoral proclamation from South Bend Mayor James Mueller and the City of South Bend for his work leading the South Bend Entrepreneurship and Adversity Program, which has graduated more than 400 participants. Morris is a past president of the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE). He has been awarded the Max S. Wortman, Jr. Award for Lifetime Achievement in Entrepreneurship and also the Academy of Management’s Dedication to Entrepreneurship Award. A former Fulbright Scholar, Morris was named a Top 20 entrepreneurship professor by Fortune Small Business and received the Leavey Award from the Freedoms Foundation for impacting private enterprise education. He received the 2021 Legacy Award from the Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers and was recognized by the USASBE as Entrepreneurship Educator of the Year in 2012. He earned a PhD in marketing from Virginia Tech in 1983.

Recent Work

Books

• "Poverty, Disadvantage and the Promise of Enterprise: A Capabilities Perspective" (Rowman & Littlefield)
• "What do Entrepreneurs Create? Understanding four types of ventures" (Edward Elgar Publishing) 
• "Poverty and Entrepreneurship in Developed Economies"  (Edward Elgar Publishing)

Journal Articles

• "From poverty trap to commodity trap: entrepreneurship and well-being among the poor" (Small Business Economics)
• "A racial identity approach to entrepreneurship: the lived experiences of African American and Black entrepreneurs" (Small Business Economics)
• “The entrepreneurial mindset and poverty” (Journal of Small Business Management)
• “Familiness and Innovation Outcomes in Family Firms: The Mediating Role of Entrepreneurial Orientation,” (Journal of Small Business Management)
• “Following in Footsteps that Inspire: Parental Passion, Family Communication Patterns, and Children’s Entrepreneurial Attitudes” (Journal of Business Research) 
• “Effectuation and Causation, Firm Performance, and the Impact of Institutions: A Multi-Country Moderation Analysis” (Journal of Business Research)
• .“Overcoming the Liability of Poorness: Disadvantage, Fragility and the Poverty Entrepreneur” (Small Business Economics)  
• “The Liability of Poorness: Why the Playing Field is Not Level for Poverty Entrepreneurs” (Poverty and Public Policy)
• “Poverty and Entrepreneurship in Developed Economies: Re-Assessing the Roles of Policy and Community Action” (Journal of Poverty)
• “The Great Divides in Social Entrepreneurship" (Small Business Economics) 
• “Entrepreneurship as a solution to poverty in developed nations” (Business Horizons) 
• “Entrepreneurship education in a poverty context: an empowerment perspective,” (Journal of Small Business Management)
• “Who is left out: Exploring social boundaries in entrepreneurial ecosystems” (Journal of Technology)

Courses

• Consulting and Development (master of global affairs course)
• Poverty, Business and Development (master of global affairs course)
• Marketing of Social Initiatives, Causes, and Ventures (elective for master of global affairs or undergraduate program in peace studies)

News & Media

• "McKenna Center receives state grant to develop AI business coaching platform"
• "Coca-Cola and Notre Dame bring poverty alleviation efforts to host cities during the FIFA World Cup 2026"
• "Notre Dame receives $2.5 million gift from Coca-Cola to expand entrepreneurship programs into FIFA World Cup 26 host cities" (Notre Dame News)
• "Notre Dame guiding local entrepreneurs with new Collaboration Hub" (ABC57)